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Nord Stream pipeline construction starts

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is expected to attend a ceremony on Friday to officially mark the start of construction of the Nord Stream pipeline, which will transport Russian natural gas across the Baltic Sea to Germany.

AFP - Russia's gas giant Gazprom on Wednesday launched construction of the Nord Stream pipeline from Russia to the European Union under the Baltic Sea, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

The first pipe that would make the pipeline linking Russia and Germany was laid under the Baltic Sea, the agency said quoting Gazprom sources.

Official launching ceremony would be held on Friday, with Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev "confirming he would take part in the festivities," Gazprom officials said.

Nord Stream plans to build a 1,220-kilometre (760-mile) pipeline to deliver gas to Germany, a 7.4-billion-euro project led by Russian state-run energy giant Gazprom in partnership with Germany's E.On Ruhrgas and BASF-Wintershall.

It will link the Russian city of Vyborg and Greifswald in Germany, running under the Baltic Sea and passing through Russian, Finnish, Swedish, Danish and German waters.

Some 375 kilometres of pipeline are expected to go through the Finnish economic zone, and construction is due to begin this year, the authority said.

A quarter of the gas consumed in the European Union comes from Russia.